Pro-reunification leader wins Cyprus presidency

25/02/2008

AKEL party leader Dimitris Christofias won the presidential runoff on Sunday. He pledged to make every effort to end the island's longstanding division.

(AFP, DPA, The Guardian, Independent - 25/02/08; AP, AFP, Reuters, DPA, Bloomberg, BBC, FT, CNA - 24/02/08)

AKEL leader Dimitris Christofias waves to supporters after winning Sunday's (February 24th) presidential election in Cyprus, beating conservative Ioannis Kasoulides. [Getty Images]

Parliament Speaker Dimitris Christofias won Cyprus' crucial presidential runoff Sunday (February 24th), after calling the Mediterranean island's reunification is his top priority.

"We will roll up our sleeves and work hard so that our island is reunified. Enough is enough, entrenching division is disastrous for our people and our island," the leader of the communist AKEL party told reporters as he cast his ballot. "I also extend a message of friendship to ordinary Turkish Cypriots."

According to official final results, Christofias won 53.4% of the vote to become Cyprus' first communist president and the only communist leader in the 27-nation EU. Conservative former foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides, who took a narrow lead in t he first round, fell short in the runoff with only 46.6%.

Conceding defeat, he pledged to support Christofias in his efforts to break the deadlock in the peace process.

"I … assured him that I would stand by him in his efforts to find a solution to our national issue," Kasoulides said. The latest international effort to end Cyprus' division collapsed in 2004, when 76% of Greek Cypriot voters rejected former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposal for a settlement. Although 65% of the Turkish Cypriots endorsed the plan, only the internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot part of the island joined the EU on May 1st 2004, representing the whole country. The so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Ankara.

During the campaign, both Christofias and Kasoulides criticised outgoing President Tassos Papadopoulos for his failure to make any real attempt to relaunch the stalled peace talks after actively campaigning against the Annan plan in 2004.

As the results of Sunday's vote became clear, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat called Christofias to congratulate him on his victory. The two reportedly agreed to meet in the near future to renew reunification efforts.

"I extend a hand of friendship to the Turkish Cypriot people and their leadership," Christofias said later. He added, "I call on them to work together for our common cause, a country of peace."

The reunification of Cyprus would remove a key hurdle on Turkey's EU accession path and would facilitate better relations between Ankara and Athens. Congratulating Christofias on his victory, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged him on Monday to pursue this chance to revive the peace process.

"I would strongly encourage you to grasp this chance and without delay start negotiations under United Nations auspices with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community," the AFP quoted Barroso as saying.